Tim Ferriss Rethinks Email

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Pretty soon, many of you will get an email from me. It’ll probably surprise you.

See, when I sketched out the original 4-Hour Workweek site in 2006 (sorely in need of a redesign), I included an email capture field, as that’s what friends said I should do:

Then I promptly forgot all about it. I hated email, so I didn’t want to send you email. Simple as that. Do unto others, right?

But things have changed.

Now, with Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and hundreds of clones, the Internet and mobile are a battlefield of noise. Even if you “like” my Facebook fan page, my updates will rarely reach more than 10% of you.

For years now, thousands of you have complained that Feedburner delivers time-sensitive blog posts days or WEEKS too late. This means missed giveaways, meetups, competitions, Q&As, parties, and all sorts of fun stuff.

Needless to say, this sucks.

So I reluctantly decided to re-examine email. In a world where people change email addresses less often than physical addresses, it just made sense.

Ah, well. Yet another reason for my friends to make fun of me. Enjoy, Kevin Rose.

But better late than never. Within the next 10 days, I will start emailing new blog posts to anyone who’s signed up (on the homepage or the newer blog form), generally around one post per week. Plus, you’ll get VIP treatment, like private Q&As, exclusive content, giveaways, and other things that don’t appear on the blog.

Here’s the deal:

– If you haven’t signed up yet (or you’re not sure), please do so now.Here’s the link. No spam, ever. Just good stuff.

If you sign up now, your first email will also include a link to a free download of the entire 4-Hour Chef audiobook, which includes narration by yours truly and Neil Gaiman (!). And to kick things off, I’ll be doing a 2-3-hour Q&A — for email subscribers only — next Monday night, 8/11. Ask me anything: business, personal, “inappropriate,” whatever. Nothing is off limits. Sign up here to get the details via email. A recording will be made available to email subscribers who can’t make the live session.

I’ll also be giving away a round-trip ticket to anywhere in the world. For details, you guessed it, you need to click here.

– If you’ve already signed up, you’re all set! Please keep an eye out for a welcome email from “Tim Ferriss” within the next 10 days.

It’s not spam. It’s from me. Following that, blog posts and VIP goodies will show up, roughly once per week.

If you’re using Gmail and my email ends up in your “Promotions” folder, please do me a favor and drag it to your “Primary” so it doesn’t get lost in all the OKCupid notifications and whatnot.

###

And please realize — I and my assistant get about 1,000 email a day. It’s funking unreal, and it’s brutal. No one is more sensitive to email abuse than I am, so I will NOT abuse your inbox.

If you get annoyed, you can one-click unsubscribe. Easy peasy and no BS.

Things will be intermittent (usually once a week, sometimes twice), and posts will be high-quality (like this or this).

As mentioned, I’ll be doing a 2-3-hour Q&A next week to kick things off, and also giving away a roundtrip ticket anywhere in the world. For details on both, just add your email here.

If you have any questions about all this, please ask in the comments! I’ll be paying close attention and answering as many as I can. I’ve literally put off email for years, but enough is enough. It’s the right thing to do.

And thank you for reading. Whatever this blog has become, I owe it all to you.

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Watch The Tim Ferriss Experiment, the new #1-rated TV show with "the world's best human guinea pig" (Newsweek), Tim Ferriss. It's Mythbusters meets Jackass. Shot and edited by the Emmy-award winning team behind Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Parts Unknown. Here's the trailer.

Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration)

I hate to be a jerk or a cynic, but for as much as I enjoy the TF podcast, Im finding it less and less relatable. Maybe i’m just not an over achiever like some folks, but Im never gonna be a best selling author or musician, or even get 100,000 emails in a week.

Just listening to ultra successful famous people on a podcast hasn’t changed my life at all compared to the content of your actual books. I’d rather hear a podcast with some Joe who lost 100 Lb’s on the slow carb than listen to some guy talk about selling 60 million records.

I think I should interview both types of people. It’s important to keep in mind that when you see “super successful” people, most of them started off as “normal” people. The podcast is intended to showcase the habits, beliefs, and techniques that helped them make the huge jump, which is often an incremental evolution.

I don’t. I enjoy learning about people who I can aspire to be like and how they grew their success, most of the time starting from nothing. If you prefer case studies, Tim has plenty on his site and in his books.

I am torn on this point about the podcast. I’ve enjoyed it so far (including the short for podcasts). On the one hand I really get inspired by hearing about the “super successful”. But I would like to hear about the “everyday” person who’s successfully (or not!) implemented strategies from 4HWW, 4HC or 4HB, what feedback Tim might have, etc.

I did. Changed my life. I am a free woman I now tell people I have a lifestyle that makes money rather than a job. I was self employed tied to my desk and not at all understanding what the big deal about being self employed was. My husband and I listened to the audio books on several trips to Flagstaff and back three years ago. We got into action. Last Year we spent 2 months in Europe, This year so far I have had 6 weeks vacation and no impact on my business. I followed Tim’s guidelines and at 54 the mini retirements are the most fun. I have an internet business so it was easier for me to implement but this book really did change my life. Thanks Tim. I am not a millionaire but run a successful business which provides a very good living.

Awesome, Going to sign up now!
I must check my aweber which I started 6 years ago when I started The Epic Blog (no longer exists). I however don’t think that I have that many subscribers but you never know!

Whats your thoughts on Feedblitz? Been using that but trying to decide if I should keep with aweber or try out the Aweber email newsletter thingy. Or even both! But then again non at all!

Good to see the blog back in action btw! What happened there as it was down a few days Tim, good to see it back!
Cheers

Thanks, PD. I am choosing AWeber over Feedblitz, etc. because I want something that isn’t 100% tied to a platform. In this case, email addresses are email addresses. It’s a pain to move from one service to the next, but email addresses are more persistent and dependable than most everything else at the moment. For my current needs, AWeber is a good fit.

Antoine, I thought the same thing. I had over 1000 subscribers with nothing to sell. Then someone in my mastermind told me DON’T. Why not just GIVE them amazing content for the next 12 months. DON’T sell them, just befriend them. ENGAGE your audience. Make them excited to be on your list. If in the next few month’s you develop a offer that speaks to this audience, then, sure, send it out. By then, they’re far more likely to buy because they like you and feel like they know you.

Now, like Tim says, respect their inbox. Don’t bombard them every day. Even one or two great, quality pieces of content per month can be great. Sure there’s other formulas and strategies(ie- 3 pieces of content to every 1 offer) but building a list CAN be an asset, captivating an AUDIENCE is a true value to both.

Kevin, GREAT advice. I should have been sending out blog posts via email much earlier. That said, I associated email with “selling” for some reason. Antoine, keep in mind that I have published 500+ posts on this blog for FREE. I intend to still focus on the content. Good content is king. Then, as Kevin said, if I have an interesting book/product/offer and I think long and hard about it, there will be an audience willing to listen.

Thanks for that, yesterday I downloaded the book onto my ipad so I can now have you read it out to me as I follow along. Loving your work and thoughts, and the DISSS model its extremely useful and refreshing. Thanks for your honesty and humour its really appreciated… All the best Steve Kelly

Just signed up! FYI, after I hit “submit” the redirect took me back to your blog. I was not sure if it worked or not, so I tried again. Might be worth having a different custom “confirmation” page that either says “check your email to confirm” if they have not subscribed, or “you are already subscribed” if that is the case. Happy to help you get those set up in AWeber if you like.

FYI – I just tried to sign up using the link on this blog page and there was no confirmation, just a redirection back to the main website. So I signed up from the box on the main website and I was forwarded to the confirmation page.

I have the AWeber guys helping me with all of this, as I’m a first timer. We already ran the whole list through the Do-Not-Call (DNC) registry and have taken a bunch of precautions. Definitely trying to do this properly and haven’t been rushing (clearly – ha!).

I’ve been receiving duplicate emails. For example, on 10/21 @ 7:14PM I received the Maria Popova email powered by Google. On 10/22 @ 4:37AM I received the same email, with a bit different formatting, from Aweber.

Represent New York Tim! Always wanted to ask you, what happened to
Your Long Island accent? Do you make a concious effort to annunciate during your podcast and other public events? As a New Yorker living in SF I am not taken seriously if I speak in my native accent. Similar experience? Very curious

Thanks for the mention Andre! Content upgrades are the single best email strategy out there. My buddy Brian Dean (backlinko.com) recently installed them on his site and saw a 758% increase in conversions [pretty nuts].

1. Signed up
2. Really enjoying your podcasts
3. Read 4HWW back when it came out, failed at all of it. Re-reading now and getting much better traction. Guess I got wiser
4. Read 4HB and executed it for a year with success, great read.
5. Mutual friend Garrett Gunderson (funny joke about when you were crafting 4HB)
6. Recently began using an auto responder via mac mail. hit the wrong button and sent every email in my inbox an auto responder message #epicfail
7. Crushing your book recommendations, thank you.
8. On a timer for everything, even this bit of time to craft a reply (thank you again)
9. If you ever come to Sydney, I’m available to assist in the social media world, community building, event help (gratis)
10. Malbec

Awesome! We’ve found a lot of your newer content really actionable (i.e. How to Gather 100,000 Emails in One Week), so this will definitely be useful. I find that good, quality content makes up for the overabundance of email in general. I personally spend 1 day per month deleting and unsubscribing from 100’s of emails, but will still subscribe (and sometimes archive) good actionable content. The “Hack of All Trades”, Tim Ferris will definitely be on good list!

You know- I’m quite glad you’re doing this. We already have an idea of the quality you offer, and we know you don’t try to sell us unnecessary stuff.

This week I unsubscribed from Ramit Sethi, Noah Kagan, and Neil Patel. I love those guys. I think they honestly try to add value as much as possible, and they hustle like crazy. But I’d get 10-15 emails a week from them (combined), and often the value just wasn’t there, or I felt like I was being funneled.

As long as you keep up the quality that you’ve always delivered, and focus on depth in your content instead of volume, I think we’re gonna love your emails.

I listen to the 4 Hour Work Week audiobook probably three times a year. The fact that you got Neil Gaiman to join you on 4 Hour Chef is a total collision of my professional development and recreational reading worlds! I’m in, Tim. Well played.

I tweeted this at you, but thought I’d comment here too – be a bit careful with your older emails. I know that both MailChimp and MailGun lock you out of your account if you exceed 5% bounce rate, and if you’ve been accumulating (but not cleaning) emails for the past 3 years, it’s likely gonna be quite easy to hit that 5% bounce rate.

You may want to re-verify them, segment separately, and/or use a email-cleaning solution

Like most things, a database of email addresses can be abused but content led emails as apposed to sales led always het better open and click through rate so it is actually a great medium for you because of the quality of your posts.

Facebook has become a slightly different beast and is doing lots to get people to spend money on extending the reach of posts, even to your own fans which is fine because the shareholders need to get paid but it does make it difficult to get time sensitive stuff to people and Twitter only takes scrolling through the feed a little too fast to miss something…

Email marketing is still the most effective form of online marketing. We started using it for our business a few years ago and so great results… provided it is used for delivering good content. We find that our blog posts get the most hits the day after we send our newsletter out.

I also really like your “ethical bribe” to invite more members to your list.

Looking forward to receiving great content.

Regards
Sanjay

4 Hour work-week is one of my all time favourite books (I re-read parts of it at least once every 6 months).

Tim, You are the bomb and I have contacted you about this before but have not heard back. WOULD YOU CONSIDER DESIGNING CURRUCULUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS? As a teacher, I can not lend them copies of your books or play the podcaasts. Some of your awesome edgy info is peppered with spicy f-bombs and pictures that are NOT appropriate for young adults under 18. So, pretty please get back to me and say you will consider a book club, podcasts, and even a book for the under 18 sponges thirsty for your insight. Coming from you it will sound better than coming from me. I also counsel students on their senior projects and hacking just about anything is a great start. I always recommend your website but can not show them to the students myself. Thanks for reading and considering.

HI! Just wanted to second this idea! I would love to see a stripped down, perhaps updated, version of the 4 Hour Body focusing just on fat reduction/ slow carb diet. Book has been life changing for me and I would love to share it with others, but a little hesitant recommending something with the caveat to “just ignore that whole better orgasm part”. Couldn’t bring myself to buy it for my mom either, even though I think she could really benefit.

I appreciate the suggestion. I am very interested in curriculum, but I need to handle a few other large projects first (including a few in education). Totally understand that, as a teacher, you probably can’t show them graphic material. On the other hand, I guarantee you that, by 18, kids who are digital natives have seen “adult” things that we can’t even imagine! Still, school environments have constraints on F-bombs, etc., which I absolutely get. One step at a time!

Tim, brother, just finished another short version podcast about the benefits of being the jack of all trades. Was told the day prior that being good at many things will never pay off. Ambushing my work mojo. I was two seconds from Ferris Knowledge Bombing (which should be a thing?) his own world of knowledge. Stoked to bottle up and drink your words often. Now we get email. BOOM! Cheers from the cheese state! — neal

Enjoy hearing that I’m not the only one ‘e-mail challenged’ but, you have me beat by a couple hundred thousand!
Enjoy the blog, the podcasts, and the ‘podcast in the podcast’- I have turned several of my friends on to these and ‘The 4-Hour Workweek’, (only to get pissed when they actually implement not answering the phone until THEY have that scheduled!)
Thanks, keep spreading the good stuff!

Hi Tim!
I love your 3 books, I enjoy reading your blog and I am having a blast listening to your podcast! You are a great inspiration!!!
If you are ever in Quebec City, maybe you feel like having dinner with a German in a French speaking city choosing food from a wonderful BYO Vietnamese/Cambodian restaurant? (pick your language =)
Keep being yourself!

I’m a sports writer that contributes to a few big name sites, but want to build my own brand in a legitimate way–while not coming across as a spam artist. Any advice or resources I can read? Please and thank you.

What is the email list end game for you? Now that you have addresses how will you leverage them? Service promotions, digital products, etc like everyone else, or do you have something new in mind? Please disrupt and revolutionize this space. :-)

Great points about email reaching subscribers while social is now (ironically) lacking. Q: You started off with AWeber years ago. Now that the email marketing world has evolved, are you going to stick with them or check out systems like MadMimi (which I think Seth Godin uses)? I’m curious to know because I just ran an analysis on SaaS pricing and email marketing products came up.

About time! And I assume your homepage is getting a massive rehaul too?

And if you’re going to take recommendations, I’d love to see Kamal Patel of Examine.com on your site. Those guys are awesome, and after having Dr. Rhonda on your show, he would be an amazing compliment!

What are your thoughts on marijuana? With your
Experience I would love to know the take home. All I hear are extremes it’s either bill o Reilly sounding like a normal dbag or cheech and Chong saying blaze it up you will
Be fine. Is there a balance
You have found at all? I really have wanted to ask someone who has tasted success a real
Answer no some bullshit extreme response.

[Moderator: Phone and email removed]

You da man keep
The content coming. Can’t wait
Till
All my hard work pays off and we grab a cup
Of
Joe or
Wine or anything and talk. Thanks for
Inspiring. Ps sorry for weird text input phone being pain in the ass.

Used DSSS from four hour chef with a teenage client in a therapy session today. He was very interested. Thanks for the hard work and random question, do you play fantasy football or have any interest in real or fake sports statistics and probability?

No question but wanted to let you know I have finally taken up the drums after watching your show on learning. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid. I am 2+ months in, take a weekly lesson here in New Orleans and love it! Thanks!

Hi Tim, 4HWW turned me into a successful entrepreneur and my husband lost 10 kilos from the 4 hr body. We’re both great at following good advice but sometimes the momentum stops as we get comfortable in our journey. Any advice for daily motivation and general kicking ass mindset? I currently do the 5 minute journal for gratitude and try to do my ‘what before 11am’ 3 important tasks. Is there any other daily ritual you find helpful?

Tim, not so much a question but just saw your tweet and couldn’t pass up a live opportunity to thank you. The 4-hour work week got me an amazing, self-employed day job, 4-hour body got my wife and I in the shape of our lives, and 4-hour chef taught us to eat like kings! And with all that settled I was able to move forward with my dream of publishing a youth sci-fi novel, which is now available from every major bookstore. Many thanks for all the inspiration my friend-you helped me make it happen!

I build WordPress websites professionally, but in the past 2 months I’ve had a huge influx of past clients coming back around asking for help setting up MailChimp or Constant Contact. It’s actually been a lot of fun as a designer, working on templates for email.

Could you give us a few ideas on possible upcoming podcast guests you have been thinking about? I listen to each one and must say I get a lot of great information from them all. I do like the variety of the guests you haven chosen so far.

I enjoy your books and podcasts and currently following the Slow Carb Diet plan. It was tough at first to follow but those cheat days sure help.

I mostly just wanted to say thank you Tim. I have been an advice reader and follower of your work for sometime. When the 4HWW first came out I got me to truly understand and utilize the 80/20 rule throughout my life both personally and professionally. Then with my advanced signed copy 4HB which has been through a lot. Wish I has taken better care of it but what better way to appreciate a book that to thouroughly go through its pages. Had so much fun with that one but I have always seemed to struggle when it came to the slowcarb diet. But the 4HC has been my most favourite as it reconnected me with my love for cooking opened so many door. Got me to start hosting dinner parties again which I had been on hiatus for 5 years. My friends have coined the phrase “Ferriss find” from all the things you have lead me to discover whether from the book, blogs, or your amazing quarterly box of goodies.

4 years ago, when I read 4hww, it changed my vision of the world for ever… Since then I work a lot less and enjoy a lot more my life and bring much more value to my clients. Your frenzy to optimise everything by hacking inspired me a lot to develop, between other projects, the ruby community in Paris. And you definitely changed the way I look at email. I try to stop watching email too frequently, especially when I code :).

For your blog, I think you should do it responsive, since lots of people are using their phone (especially reading emails :)) and if they click a link and they arrive in your blog it’ll be … better if it’s responsive (and that’s really easy to do).

Then I would say : continue to help us improve our lives. You are one of the greatest inventors of the 21th century, you give so much to people… thank you for everything ^^

I have many ambitions.. as you clearly have had. I’d like to develop my own app, pursue a music career, study in yeshiva, amongst many other things. The basis of what I’d like to do mostly is entrepreneurial, just I have been told to learn Accounting because it is “the backbone of business” as one person has told me, also I figure a CPA would be a good route to acquiring startup capital. Yet I fear being dreadfully bored and not accomplishing anything I’d like to accomplish going that route.

Hi Tim,
I’ve have been an avid reader and fan of yours for sometime now and have applied many of your techniques in growing my business. First was a previous metals business I starred with $300 and tested very successful using many if the suggestions in the 4hr Work Week.
Right now, I’m a co-founder & CEO of a tech start up called Uffucient. It is basically the ‘Uber of Everything’ and we are ready to go love in a few weeks. We have lists of top bloggers (500), email marketing stretegies ( per your last article) and a number of other stretegies (meetups, etc). What else would you recommend we do to promote downloads of our mobile app? Is there a life hack to getting downloads and more importantly users? Do you have any growth hacker tips?
I would love to hear your answers!
Than You,
Stefan Kojouharov
Ufficient.com

Huge fan of CILTEP and, like you, find that a bit of extra sleep is needed in the evening –– after a full day of drive, motivation and Getting–Shit–Done® –– though nothing even close to the extended 12 to 13 hours of sleep you’d mentioned. Supplimenting with choline seems to take some of the edge off of CILTEP (the teeth-grinding edge it sometimes has), and a dose of GABA and melatonin just before bedtime insures absolutely rock solid sleep.

As a quick sidenote, CILTEP in combination with piracetam is wonderful, especially for putting yourself into “hunker down and study” mode, though choline supplimentation is mandatory –– unless you really want to experience the worst headaches in the world.

Tim, I think it’s time for the Four-Hour Toddler. If you’re not ready to have one yet, I’m sure some of your readers would be happy to have you join them for experiments in eating broccoli, falling asleep, and getting out the door in the morning. Parenting is the ultimate crucible for lifestyle experimentation.

Hey Tim. Big reader of yours here in NYC. While I identify strongly with the entrepreneurial, life hack, self-optimized approach, as a social entrepreneur I also hungry for pushing these ideas into the social good sphere. Have you thought about it? If not, would you consider it? Hell I’d help/collaborate. If not, I’ll end up doing it by myself, eventually, but we could use some signature Ferriss-ness on it. I just know among my fellow millennials there’s a real hunger for it.

PS Thank you for the MLBJ recipe in 4hrchef. My wife loves the recipe, and I love what it leads to. :)

Hey Tim, the 4HWW inspired me to build an automated business back in 2009, it’s carried me since and allowed me to do some traveling and live in pretty cool places.

I did however, go against a word of caution you offered, “don’t do ingestibles.” Though it’s worked really, really well and I’ve replicated the business, TWICE.

My question is about how the internet has changed since the last update. Social media has obviously taken over communication both personally and in business, but you’re moving back to email. Do you have any suggestions or methods for converting your list to buyers?

You’re my hero Tim haha. How do I “Tim Ferriss” writing a book? Is there an outline of structure or style best Sellers have in common? I have heard you say to just write everything down and compile it later…get thoughts on paper. However is there a way to speed up the process without sacrificing content? Maybe developed your own outline…hit best seller points, and fill in the blanks? I’m all over The place writing first book. Thanks in advance.

Love, love, love this space. You are my virtual mentor, thank you. Listen to the podcasts daily and love the random show. Any chance you could throw a few female candidates in the podcast mix? Any thoughts on how to conquer a fear of flying?

Tim, I was just having this conversation the other day with my friend. A few years ago people (maybe even you!) were announcing the death of email. But here we are, for the reason that it is still user controlled, and not awash in the stream. (Compare this to streaming music and the vinyl collector!)

As a vinyl collector, I think I may more purchases based on the email lists I am on than the FB and Twitter feeds I follow.

I am a recent college graduate turned job-seeker. Do you have any 4-Hour tips for getting into a job (particularly SF/tech startups)?

Also, I tried changing your Wikipedia photo to the one with you between the two stacks of books, but it got removed for copyright. Do you happen to know the copyright holder/photographer of that picture?

For the jobs, check out “12 Lessons Learned Marketing The 4-Hour Body” and Charlie’s story.

For the pic, I should own the copyright, as it was taken with my camera, in my house, at my direction. Assuming that’s the case, you have my permission. The one with that mouthpiece in my face kills me. Terrible pic.

On an unrelated topic, any update on whether your TV episodes will be released would be much appreciated! I haven’t heard much and have looked forward to watching them. I understand it’s a frustrating situation…

“Tim Ferriss Rethinks Email”
When I got that email, I seriously that you are going to revolutionize email, going to do something crazy with emails (may be another experiment). I am kinda disappointed to see that this is a general blogpost to increase the email signups. The blogpost headline hooked me up so much.

I’m sorry you feel that way, and I apologize for any confusion. For what it’s worth:

1) This post wasn’t to increase email signups. It was to give long-time readers a heads up that they’ll be getting emails from me, and I didn’t want them to think it was spam, given how long ago many of them signed up.

2) I DO have a lot of thoughts about email. Until I get into it, play around with emailga.me and Boomerang (paid version) for Gmail or whatever service you use.

Signed up. Thanks, Tim. It’ll be nice to know when you have new content on the blog. I feel like I keep missing out. (Curious. Is this the same version of the 4HC that we BitTorrented a few months back? Thanks for that.)

Email is the basis of both my 4HWW-based “lifestyle” tax practice (ok, closer to 10 hours per week), as well as my coaching/consulting business for other tax professionals.This fact tends to befuddle the current generation of social media oriented “gurus”. The fact that I build my email lists primarily via direct mail then just makes their heads explode.

You’ve obviously got a massive following, and leveraging that via email is an incredibly intelligent long-term business decision. Can’t wait to see what you come out with.

Hi Tim — I am using Mailchimp for e-mail signups and sending emails, which has worked pretty well for me and my online Italian wine business. Their opt-in confirmation 2-step process is nice for weeding out honey pots and the like, but I find not everyone confirms their email addresses — the confirmation email sometimes gets caught in a spam filter.

Just curious about your thoughts (or others) on using the double opt-in services like Mailchimp versus the Aweber model of just dropping your email in (single step with no email confirmation required). It seems like the single step services could have a high percentage of bogus emails, but not sure how high.

Dear Tim,
I would like to sign up to your new email scheme but I would like to know if I will benefit as much as your American subscribers. Will I? I live in Belgium.
Thanks a lot.
Michèle
PS. I read the 4 hr work week from cover to cover. I thought you were a genius!

Funny how we’ve created all these extra methods to communicate, but somehow it’s harder to get a message through. Or, for us to get the message we want to hear. Looking forward to 1-2 quality updates a week in my inbox. Thanks Tim

Tim, thanks for doing this Q&A. My question has to do with finding a muse. I’ve read your blog posts on the topic, but so far everything I’ve been able to come up with either doesn’t lend itself to automation, isn’t very profitable, has already been done, or I don’t enjoy it enough to motivate me to work on it. Do you have any suggestions for helping me come up with better ideas? Also, do you have any suggestions for helping me find a manufacturer for physical products? Thanks in advance.

There will be a large audience that will appreciate this medium. It needs to be done. That being said – I get plenty of you in my FB and TW streams and that’s where I like it. I, and many others, hit the streams to consume content. I hit the inbox to communicate and GTD so I won’t be signing up. I don’t want to dread getting emails from you. Just thought you’d appreciate this perspective.

I would love to be able to connect you with Geoff Thompson for your podcast at some point Tim..I know we have connected in the past regarding this but he has some really exciting stuff going on at the moment and the ‘from factory worker and doorman to BAFTA winning writer is really inspirational.

Give me a shout if you want to find put a bit more or just Google Geoff Thomson inspired!

Hey Tim, I love the podcasts so much that I’d listen if you had Mr Hanky the Xmas poo! But I especially like it when you have people that guys like me wouldn’t normally have access to. For what it’s worth, I’d love to hear a podcast with Tony Hseih (zappos), the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, Jon Jones (UFC Champ), or a Mr. Olympia.

I hope you do not use the email to send blog posts, I prefer RSS (just avoid Feedburner). Also, I Think Twitter is better to check for news and you get less stuff in your inbox that can be distracting.
Looking forward to the Q&A next week!

I have been following the blog and Facebook page for a few years now and the content has never been better! I would have never thought that we would return to email as being a more personal and direct way of communicating. Very interesting approach, looking forward to the exclusive content!

Do you think you will rewrite and update the “Four Hour Work Week”? The book has changed my life in so many ways. I am now a student of Stephen Key as a result, and plan to pursue a career in product licensing. This is solely due to your book and your previous articles on licensing. I would love to see a follow up to your articles “Licensing: From Tae-Bo to Teddy Ruxpin” and “How to Rent Your Ideas…”. Thank you for the direction and motivation you have given me. I will always be a huge supporter of your work.

Thank you for all of the helpful, insightful, and inspiring content. I am a PE teacher at a school that primarily serves students from low socio-economic backgrounds – I find your books and podcasts to be personally and professionally relevant. Without question, I know I am more effective in both areas of life from applying the lessons I’ve learned from you and your guests on the podcast. Furthermore, I enjoy the opportunities to communicate these lessons I learn to my students, which in turn has an immensely positive impact on their lives. Additionally, I always look forward to checking out your book club as those books have become my gift of choice for family and friends.

Your work has also inspired me to expand my travels and learn Spanish. My girlfriend laughs at how excited I get when the customs agent puts the new stamp on my passport. Always looking forward to your new posts and podcasts!

YAY!
The Blog of Author Tim Ferris is a subject line that I actually look forward to seeing in my inbox. Especially since the podcast was launched. A Long walk while listening is my favorite exercise.

I’ve listened to both 4 Hour Work Week and 4 Hour Body in the last year + and I have made lasting changes as a result. (Not all radical changes; but, with the knowledge I have now, there is no going back.)

I am PSYCHED (as the kids say) to get The 4 Hour Chef audiobook!
Nihongo wakarimasen; but that’s about to change : ) .